Burn So Bright
by LaLaGirl33
Summary: A Jordan and Angela reunion - twenty years in the making. One-shot. I hope you enjoy, if you do, please leave me a review :) Thank you!


**A/N** Several years after finding my first fanfic fandom… where I gleefully discovered that fanfiction was even a thing… I had the urge to pick up the laptop and write about these two. Has it really been that long? Falling into this world again seems like a homecoming.

As always – this is written for the other fans out there- people like me who just feel these characters deserve more. And while there may not be a ton of MSCL fanfic fans out there, still, this one is for you. Cheers! :-) I hope you enjoy this one-shot as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 **Disclaimer:** These are characters created by Winnie Holzman, My So Called Life. This fanfic story was created for their love, nothing else.

 **Burn So Bright**

 **January, 2018**

Angela barely noticed that the happy-hour crowd and dinner rush had long-since dissipated, she was so wrapped up in her thoughts. Miserable at work, no love-life...even her cat seemed to merely tolerate her. She sighed, and thought that maybe now was the time to make some life changes. _Gosh, that sounded so... sad…but maybe good too._ Seated alone at the bar, she took a sip of her chardonnay, and checked her phone again to see if the battery was still charged. It was. And yet, hours after her call to the rental company, no service or replacement car had arrived; and despite leaving a message for her parents, no return phone call from them. She sighed, and took another sip of her wine.

She was back in Three Rivers to attend her grandmother's funeral, and her rental car had literally died right in front of a swanky wine bar just on the fringes of Three River's quaint downtown shopping district. She'd already had an appetizer and a light salad for dinner. But she drew the line at dessert, instead drinking her second glass of wine. She looked at her watch distractedly. Ten minutes to nine. She picked up her phone to call her parents again, and thankfully, it began buzzing in her hand. She sighed in relief as she saw it was her mom calling.

"Mom?"

"Angela, honey, I'm so sorry we missed your call," apologized Patti in a rush. "It's been such a long day. When we got home from meeting with the lawyers, both your father and I just fell asleep in front of the TV."

"It's okay mom. You probably needed it, and I've just been enjoying this wine bar downtown. I had a nice dinner and it gave me some time to just… chill. Besides, I think I have to stay here until someone comes for the rental car, so don't worry about it. I just wanted to make sure you weren't worried about me, wondering where I was," she explained.

"Okay honey, well, get here when you can. I'll be up for a few hours, now that I got a nap in."

They said their goodbyes, and Angela turned her attention back to her chardonnay, wondering if she should get another as she tilted it back to drain it.

"Ma'am?" asked a male voice from behind her. "Excuse me, but I answered a call from Hudson Rental about one of their customers needing a tow? I'm so sorry for the delay. I'm looking for an Angela Lyon, are you…"

Angela stood and turned to make instant eye contact with a ghost from her past. When the same realization dawned on the ghost in question, he stopped speaking and stared at her, his expression changing from friendly-professional to shocked disbelief.

"Wow," she said finally, filling the awkward silence stretching between them. "I can't believe it. Jordan?" she asked, even though she knew it was him. Damn him. Besides filling out as any man would (and in all the right places), and although his hair was a bit shorter and he had a few laugh lines around his mouth and eyes, he looked pretty much the same. He looked good. Way too good. Same thick lashes and deep blue eyes. Same broad shoulders and capable build. Same Doc Martens. Wait a minute, really? Same style of sheep-skinned lined jacket…? Was this really happening, she thought, or was she really seeing a ghost?

He licked his bottom lip, and she was instantly transported back in time, seeing that same action time and again when he was nervous. And as quickly as she saw it, it was gone.

"Wow," he repeated her, and let out a chuckle as a wide smile spread across his handsome face. "I guess I should be glad the shop got so busy I had to take a run myself. I wouldn't have wanted to miss this for anything. Come here," he said, and before she knew what was happening, he'd taken her hand and pulled her into the circle of his arms; his warmth, his scent enveloping her. Overwhelming her.

Just as she realized what was happening and was sinking into his arms, returning his embrace, he stepped away, removed his gloves and began talking. "We contract with the city, and even though we've got three locations now, we still couldn't quite manage to keep up today. This weather- we had a sudden warm up and thaw yesterday, followed by a big temperature drop today -well, after the sun went down… it's been brutal, ever since rush-hour. Icy roads everywhere. There's fender-benders all over the city, including a ten-car pileup on River Road. I rarely have to suit up anymore, but like I said, I'm glad I did. Wow," he said again, this time looking her up and down, and not hiding it. She felt herself blushing, and furiously willed herself to get a grip. Her body was still tingling all over, just from their brief embrace.

"I take it you're managing the garage now? Or should I say, garages?" she asked politely, when really she was trying to just find something to say, and praying that the ringing in her ears and the rush of blood through her veins would stop.

"Well, not really, I have a staff to do that. I own them, but yeah, sometimes I step in. We had a couple of guys call in sick today and like I said, the weather is wreaking some havoc."

He looked around, the place was dead. "Look, I've had a busy day, it would be great to grab a drink with you and catch up, but I can more than understand if you'd rather I just give you a ride to wherever you were heading? I'll drop off the car at the garage and give your address to the rental company, they'll drop one off with you first thing." He looked at her expectantly, and there was no missing the hopeful expression in his eyes.

She smiled as she realized, that catching up with Jordan after all these years seemed like a good idea. "Yeah…" she nodded, retaking her seat, with a hesitant smile, "I think I'd like that."

He smiled into her eyes, a real smile - that same smile that made her heart and stomach flip every time she saw it.

"Great," he said, and removed his jacket before sitting at the bar next to her. "So what brings you to Three Rivers? You here to see Graham and Patti? I see them around from time-to-time."

"Well, unfortunately, I'm here for a funeral. My dad's mother passed away yesterday. Funeral is on Saturday."

His face fell. "Oh no. I'm so sorry to hear that, please pass on my condolences."

"Yeah, I will. It's okay, it was expected. Her health took a turn months ago. In all honesty, I think we're all relieved to know she's no longer suffering."

He sighed. "Yeah, I understand. My father passed about ten years ago. His organs finally shut down and watching that was horrible." He motioned to the bartender, and ordered a beer for himself, and motioned for another glass of wine for her. He didn't add that the fact that his dad was a bastard still made it hard to see him go. He didn't have to. Angela already knew.

"So… you're married? New last name? Or…" he asked, and she didn't miss that he had checked out her ring finger and found it empty. She had to admit she'd done the same, and couldn't hide that she was glad his ring finger was bare too.

"Oh, I've been divorced for about five years. We just…didn't want to work on it, you know?" she said thoughtfully, taking the glass of wine from the bartender and taking a sip. She hadn't ever really put it that way before, she realized, but it was true. She and Chris had gotten married because it seemed like the next step…and then soon after, they both knew the next step was divorce. "But I kept his last name because, well, have you ever had to change your name? _It's an ordeal_ ," she said seriously.

He grinned at her easily. "There's the Angela Chase I knew so well," he teased, and she grinned back at him.

"Oh come on," she swatted him on the arm. "I wasn't that bad."

"Oh I don't know, Angela. You had the dramatics down pretty good." He said with raised eyebrows, and took a swig of his beer, never breaking eye contact with her, daring her to deny it again.

She let out a huff, taking a healthy sip of her own drink. "Okay, fine. I was a bit…angsty." He almost sputtered.

"A bit!?" he laughed, and she joined him.

"Well what about you? No one could brood like you did!"

"I did not brood," he protested.

Now it was her turn to raise her eyebrows at him. "Okay, okay," he looked over at her with a conspiratorial eye. "But we had good times." His look suddenly turned serious, and their eyes met and held. He blinked before looking away. "Actually," he said, returning his eyes to hers and letting out a deep breath, "Some of my best times were with you. Most, actually."

Angela felt the electricity that had been growing between them practically crackling in the air. His gaze was serious, and she felt the years slip away. Nothing else mattered in that moment, except him. Before she could change her mind, she reached out to take his hand, but he was already right there to gently take hers, one slow finger at a time. The rough texture of his skin was achingly familiar, and an intense heat swept through her. She heard her breath hitch as she dropped his gaze, to watch his fingers intertwine with hers as they had so many times before, so many years before.

He cleared his throat, gently, to which she lifted her gaze back to his. He opened his mouth to speak, and she half expected him to whisper, "Let's get outta here," as he'd done so often in their past. Instead he merely asked her, "So Angela, what do you do for a living?" which was literally the last thing on her mind at the moment.

"Guess." She said simply, not trusting herself to steer the conversation.

He laughed softly. "How many guesses do I get?" he asked playfully.

She smiled impishly at him. "Three." Was she flirting? Well so what if she was, she thought.

"And what do I get if I guess correctly?"

She thought for a minute. "Another round?" she suggested. Maybe by that time she'd be relaxed enough to actually talk to him, she thought.

"Deal," he said quickly, dropping her hand and leaning back a bit in his chair to regard her carefully. He was using this as an excuse to thoroughly check her out! She smiled inside, knowing he'd get nothing from what she was wearing. She was casually dressed for travel in dark jeans and a comfortable V-neck sweater. As she was thinking about her clothes, she noticed he was dressed similarly - in comfortable jeans with a leather belt and a button-down shirt. Jordan - in a collared shirt that wasn't a flannel? He'd grown up, she thought to herself.

"A librarian," he offered his first guess.

She smiled. "Nope."

"Damn. I always wanted to date a sexy librarian," he leered at her with a heated look. She laughed, her insides fluttering at the attention and the implication. She raised her eyes back to his, expectantly.

"A dog trainer."

She laughed out loud. "No."

"Damn. I've got a stray that wandered in to the garage and decided to stay, and I swear to God, she's running the place."

Her heart melted at that. "Aww. What's her name?"

He rolled his eyes. "Princess. What else?"

"Of course," she agreed, and looking at his relaxed posture, she knew he was enjoying this as much as she was. She took another sip of her wine, and wondered if it was possible for her cheeks to break from smiling so much.

"A counselor."

"Wrong again."

"Damn. See, I've been hung up on this girl ever since high school and maybe it would help for me to talk to someone about it."

Her breathing stopped. Her heart stopped. Everything stopped.

His eyes never left hers, and he licked his lower lip for the second time that night. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, how many times I imagined how it might go if we bumped in to each other," he said slowly. "How I wanted it to go."

"Oh yeah?" she asked hoarsely. "And how is this one going so far?"

He closed his eyes, and used both hands to rub his face, then rake them through his hair. He appeared to be gathering himself before turning back to her.

"It's true, Ang. I've never met anyone like you, since you. Never met anyone that burned so bright. I don't care what you do for a living. I do just fine. I don't care where you live. I'll move. I don't care what you've been doing for the past twenty years. I just want the chance to know you again."

Angela felt her insides tighten at his words, and she realized she'd been waiting twenty years to hear them. "Jordan," she began, and he interrupted her.

"Look, I don't want to screw this up like I did last time. I want to take this slow. If you do."

She grinned at him, and said softly, "I do."

A huge smile spread across his face, and he leapt off the chair, pulling her into his arms and planting a soft kiss on her nose. He slowly lowered her to the ground and rested his forehead on hers with a soft exhale as if he'd been holding his breath the entire time. She smiled up at him, and took his hands in hers.

"Good." He said simply.

 **-FIN-**


End file.
